This invention relates generally to the field of writing implements such as pens and pencils combined with papers sources, and particularly to improving the mechanism by which paper is dispensed from the barrel of such a combined writing implement, or from a similar dispenser.
Devices combining a writing implement with a paper source have long been known in the art. One of the earliest such combined devices is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 640,543, which discloses a rolled strip of paper inside a tubular pencil case. Since then, a wide variety of combined writing implement and paper holding devices have sought to improve upon the basic ideas and mechanisms of U.S. Pat. No. 640,543. These include U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,359,725; 1,431,722; 2,005,110; 2,073,719; 2,076,035; 2,081,036; 2,224,470; 2,601,650; 3,963,358; 4,327,875; 4,872,775; 4,963,048; 5,024,547; 5,158,384; 6,135,661; Des. 329,459; Des. 346,619; and Des. 338,036.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,322,966 varies the idea of combining paper and a writing implement by placing a paper roll outside the writing implement as a separate attachment. U.S. Pat. No. 2,111,362 adds a rolled calendar to the basic writing implement. U.S. Pat. No. 2,301,364 discloses a pencil with a booklet contained therein. U.S. Pat. No. 2,517,445 dispenses a rolled ticker tape. U.S. Pat. No. 3,552,869 dispenses rolled stamps. U.S. Pat. No. 2,287,618 dispenses rolled toilet tissue. U.S. Pat. No. 4,030,842 discloses a flexible sheet which is extended from and retracted into a writing implement for storing information.
Several of these patents, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,431,722 and 2,512,168 also disclose a ratcheting or similar one-way mechanism to prevent paper from being rolled back into the writing implement once it has been unrolled out of the writing implement, which is generally desirable unless one of the goals is to roll the paper back into the writing implement, as is the case when the paper roll is used to store information (e.g., for the calendar of U.S. Pat. No. 2,111,362).
Helpful summaries of much of this prior art are provided in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,812,069; 4,963,048; and 6,135,661.
One of the most important operational aspects of a combined writing implement/paper dispenser is the mechanism for dispensing the paper out from the writing implement. It is important to simultaneously prevent the paper from unrolling inside of the writing implement, while also making it easy for the paper to unroll when it desired to dispense paper from the writing implement. Many of the patents noted above disclose mechanisms for dispensing paper which are prone to undesired jamming or tearing of the paper, are difficult to load or unload, require complex threading of the paper, do not enable easy dispensation of the paper, and/or are extremely complex from a mechanical and cost-of-production standpoint. Some of what appear to be the more complex dispensing mechanisms among the patents cited earlier include those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,073,719 (see, e.g., FIG. 4); U.S. Pat. No. 2,224,470 (see, e.g., FIG. 4); U.S. Pat. No. 2,287,618 (see, e.g., FIG. 5); U.S. Pat. No. 2,601,650 (see, e.g., FIGS. 14–18); U.S. Pat. No. 3,963,358 (see, e.g., FIG. 13); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,812,069 (see, e.g., FIG. 6).
One of the problems is that in the above patents, the paper roll itself is unsecured at its ends, and thus tends to unravel inside the pen, especially as the paper supply is depleted and the paper has more room inside the pen barrel to unroll. This problem is partially resolved by. U.S. Pat. No. 1,266,299 to Moore, which uses a roll that has scores proximate its edges (along the line b′) and is glued together along its edges (outside of the line b′). U.S. Pat. No. 2,512,168, also to Moore, uses a scoring similar to that of U.S. Pat. No. 1,266,299, but wherein the scoring converges as one approaches the center of the roll.
While this does help to secure the edges of the paper to prevent unraveling, it does not address the issue of how to peel off the outer layer of paper from the inner layers when it is desired to dispense some paper from the writing implement. Especially as the paper supply depletes, the outer surface winding of the rolls disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,266,299 and 2,512,168 (and indeed, of the rolls in all of these patents) resides further from the edge of the writing implement barrel and the slot through which the paper is pulled, and it becomes more and more difficult the get the paper edges to protrude through the dispensing slot. Indeed, the basic problem is that as the roll is depleted, it becomes more important to secure the roll in such a way that it will not unravel inside the writing implement, and yet, by securing the roll precisely when it is depleted and thus its outer surface is further from the slot, it then becomes harder to “leaf off” the outer edge of the paper, through the slot.
It would therefore be desirable to have a simple mechanism for dispensing rolled paper from the barrel of a writing implement (or from a paper roll dispenser generally) that simultaneously secures the paper roll from unrolling inside the barrel while “leafing” up the outermost layer of the paper roll through the barrel slot for easy dispensation, especially when the paper supply is largely depleted.